Last Chance
by Winged Lady Colette
Summary: Shepard has one last chance at life. Without galaxy-ending events sucking Shepard in, she has to do something that she has long since feared; facing her own feelings in all aspects of her life. The loss of her loved ones, her life altering choices and even her own death. Twice fold. And people wanting to collect on their investment. Post ME3.
1. Who is Found

**Author's note: Yes, sorry, another story, but I have to. It's a Mass Effect fanfiction... so, it's different. :D Let me know what you think! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Warnings: Language and OOCness.**

 **Word Count: 4,933**

Jack doesn't believe in faith. It's just not something that's in her. Growing up with the life that she did, at first faith was all that she had. But she was a kid then. She was ignorant and didn't know better. But she does now and knows that faith is a bunch of bullshit. One has to make their own luck if they want to survive in the fucked up universe that they live in. Jack knew better than that. While locked up, if anyone asked her, she'd swear up and down that every decent person that ever lived was made up, or were killed by the fuckers of the universe.

That is until she met Shepard. At first she didn't care either way about Shepard. She was just a means to an end. A diplomatic pain in the ass. But a fair one. She made sure that the Cerberus Cheerleader kept their end of the deal. But as she began to know the team, and her new boss - Shepard, not Cerberus. _Never_ Cerberus - she began to wonder if this shitty universe did have some halfway decent people left in it.

By the end of her time with Shepard leading to the attack on the Collector Base, Jack saw Shepard for what the girl really was to her; a friend. There was no person that Shepard couldn't somehow adapt to. She made it hard not to like her. She was always so disgustingly good. She would help anyone and everyone she could up until she couldn't anymore.

While she could be the nicest, most giving person, Jack had come to learn to know. But where she could be a saint, she could also be Satan. She is capable of being the nastiest, vengeful person in the universe.

Jack quite liked that about her. There was nothing false about her. Either she liked you and took care of you, or she hated you and would destroy you if you fucked up. Jack liked that. She learned to just be straight up with Jack. While the tattooed girl appreciated - somewhat - that Shepard would try and spar her feelings, she was a lot stronger then the delicate flowers that this universe had to offer. She told Shepard straight up to be straight up and that's how the Commander had been ever since to her.

If Shepard was anything - other than being completely badass - was that she really listens to people. If they wanted something, whether it's to be called something or to be told something. She's good at keep up her side of the bargain. Whatever that ends up being, she is always working hard to keep her side of things. Shepard is many things, a liar isn't one of them. Unless you piss her off. Then she'll lie, cheat, beat down, then destroy you.

And Jack loved that about her.

Then Jack found something else to love. More like people. Now, she would deny it until her face is blue; but she loved the kids in Grissom Academy. They were annoying and they fucked up a lot, but they were pure. Innocent, in a way that seemed un-corruptable. Now, Jack isn't foolish enough to romanticize any of this. It's too mushy and gooey for her anyway, but she did know that if she kept after them long enough, she could keep those kids on the right track for as long as she could and somehow, that would make up for all the shit she's done in her life.

She wanted to become to those kids what Shepard had become to her: invincible.

And then Shepard: the untouchable, the unbeatable, the unstoppable, died. That was the end of her story. But if anything could kill Shepard, it was something that would require the entire universe to live in her stead. That's just how it goes. The magnificent, benevolent, oozing with a high degree of bad-ass-ery, Shepard had to die somehow, and it wasn't going to be old and in her bed. It was going to be young and in a blaze of glory. It was going to be for the sake of everyone else. She would die so they could live.

Jack knew that. Everyone who knew Shepard knew that. There was no other way. Shepard was a survivor. She could survive everything up until it was her or someone she loved, then it was always them. Just like when she died the first time, before Jack knew her. It was her, getting into the life pod knowing that Joker was trying to save the Normandy SR1 and get the hell out of that fireball, or make sure Joker made it out alive, knowing that at least she, but both of them could have died in the attempt.

She took it. Because that was Shepard. She made people believe in her - love her - because there was only one other option. You hated her. Sometimes, when Jack thinks back on how they lost Shepard, she hated the damned martyr. And she didn't feel bad about it, either. She knew, wherever Shepard was when Jack was drinking up a storm and cursing her out, that Shepard would only smile and laugh and think to herself that she was glad Jack was alive to still be able to do that.

Because that was Shepard. She viewed the universe in a strange form of black and white. Without the people she loved, the universe became a lesser place. But she never stopped to think how much darker the universe would be without the Commander. But no, that would mean Shepard had to think about herself over some other bastard in the universe, in Jack's opinion.

But in all the things which Shepard was good at - and dancing _wasn't_ one of them - she was good at making unlikely comrades into lifelong friends. Not just with her, but on occasion, Jack will get a call from one of the other crewmen of the Normandy for drinks or a meet up for one reason or another.

And then Shepard died.

It hadn't been long. It was about a year, before they somehow managed to get the Mass Relays working, making travel convenient again. It was unspoken, all those that worked alongside Shepard, that were actually friends with her, met up. Those that weren't on the Normandy with her during her final battle to take back Earth, raced to the Normandy to see her name be put up onto the wall with the names of all the other dead Normandy crewmen, alongside the late Captain Anderson. The circumstances leading to hers and Anderson's death are still shrouded in mystery.

After classes were over at Grissom Academy and all the kids were sent home once the school year is over, Jack went to the Alliance and told them that if they needed her, she had a few months to help them before returning to the job she's actually come to enjoy. But because Jack is known for getting shit done, they utilized her to the best of their abilities.

Jack was sent to an old Alliance military that they lost contact with following the end of the war against the Reapers. Normally, Jack wouldn't want to be sent on a boring ass mission like that, but she was on another mission in the system when they put the order in and the next Alliance team was about a week out and the base had been dark for long enough already and needed to be looked at immediately.

A week and a half, Jack had before she had to return to Grissom Academy for the new school year. This was probably her last mission until the next school year was over and decided to kill a little more time before heading back. So she took the mission.

The defenses for the base were still up, Jack nearly got shot out of the sky - which pissed her off - the security for the building was still active - and they were anti-biotic based robots - which pissed her off even more - before she came to learn that aside from the robots, the entire base was empty. And that pissed her off the most.

Who the hell activates an entire bases defenses, both inside and outside, and then leave it unmanned? The base wasn't damaged in any way, indicating that there wasn't a battle over the base, but there was no personnel at all and the security cameras hadn't been recording since the base went dark when the Reapers invaded the system. There was signs of damage on the planet, but the base was left alone.

So what the fuck happened?

Did they turn on the defenses and hoped it would tickle the Reapers to death? Jack sure as hell didn't know.

But one look at the ship she came in on and Jack knew that piece of shit wasn't going to be getting her back to Grissom Academy. Turning on her Omni-tool she radios in for nearby Alliance ships, waiting for a ping.

It was about twenty minutes of her wondering around the abandon base, looking for any other clues she could have missed on what happened to this base. Her Omni-tool pings, catching her attention as she walks through the stark white halls, that painfully reminds her of her childhood, but she forces the thought away with an angry sneer on her face, wondering when that assholes of Cerberus will stop haunting her in the back of her mind. She'd think it'd be now, since the asshole Illusive man was dead, but no.

Sometimes, without Jack's permission, this feeling of anger and hopelessness will crawl up her spine, reminding her of her time as Subject Zero. But that too is shook away.

"This is the Normandy SR2 responding to the Alliance hail," Joker's voice comes through Jack's Omni-tool, making her stop in the middle of the hall. "Respond."

"Joker?" Jack says, grinning down at the orange computer on her arm. "It's Jack. How the hell are you?"

A pause, then, "Jack? Hell. If I'd known it was you, I would have just ignored the hail. Shit," Joker teased, letting out a little laugh. Jack's grin broadens a bit more at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Screw you, Joker, get the hell down here and pick me up."

Another laugh. "Yeah, alright. Turn on your beacon. Garrus just gave me the go-ahead to come pick you up."

"He better have," Jack mutters.

"I did," Garrus's voice comes through her Omni-tool too, his voice is somewhat amused. It's not the usual Garrus boisterousness. The sadness is still in his voice. Shepard's death hit them all hard, but Garrus and her were a thing. They were in legit love with one another. Make all the jokes she wants about their inter-species relationship, Jack could see how they were with one another. They were in love and they were good for one another.

Even Jack, who's ignorant to love, could see that. If what they had wasn't love, Jack doesn't know what is.

"Garrus, huh?" Jack says, leaning heavily on one hip. "I thought the Alliance brass would commandeer the Normandy. Who the hell did you have to kiss ass for to get it?"

A chuckle that sounds a lot more like the normal Garrus. "It wasn't easy. There is still a lot of things that they are letting us get away with until the universe settles down from the Reapers. The Normandy is the best suited for the current state of the universe. We could move fast and quiet. The Alliance wanted the Normandy to keep moving, as it is a symbol of hope, and they needed someone to command it. I'm acting as a stand in until they decide what they really want to do with it." There was a strangeness to his voice.

Jack doesn't say anything on first, she wastes a bit of time turning on her beacon before saying, "I got it. It'll be good to see you again, Scars."

A pause, then, "You too, biotic bitch."

Jack busts out laughing, doubling over at the suddenness of it. The affectionate name Jack had pressured Shepard into calling her was now like music to her ears. Her feelings couldn't be hurt, not by Shepard.

"I'll see you soon, Vakarian," Jack says, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, Jack," Garrus says before her ear piece falls silent. Jack looks around the hall, trying to remember her way back around to the hanger. The base is too small for the Normandy to land, so it'll probably be in the Kodiak, but she doesn't know which way will lead her back to the hanger. Jack spins around, looking in all the directions she could before choosing at random and heading there. If push comes to shove, she'll just wait for the Normandy crew to find her and feign that's what she wanted to happened.

Jack ran her left hand along the wall absently, not really paying attention. She didn't hear the sound of the base opening fire just yet, so she must have been able to shut the defense turrets down.

Suddenly, her fingers run across a glass-like surface. She pauses and looks down at the plain white wall, raising an eyebrow curiously. She feels along the wall until she touches the glass-like surface again to see an invisible little computer screen. Well, it's not invisible, it just blends in to the wall really well. If Jack hadn't been running her hand across the wall, she would never have found it. It's probably the reason she must have passed it up the first time.

"What the fuck are you..?" Jack mutters, playing around on the computer, seeing if she can hack it. But Jack isn't tech-savvy. Once she realized she could get nothing from that computer, she did what she did best. Summoned her monstrous biotic power and with an angry roar, she punches her fist right through the computer. It died in an explosion of sparks before a door, completely invisible to the naked eye, just like the computer opens up right next to Jack. What Jack saw made her entire body freeze.

Garrus and James round the corner in time to see Jack standing in the middle of the hallway, her hands hanging loosely at her side, with her eyes wide. Her entire face is completely expressionless, with her large dark eyes staring into the room in front of her. There wasn't really a door in front of her, it was more like a break in the wall.

"What's wrong with her?" James asks, looking over at the turian to his right. "Why is she just standing there?"

Garrus shrugs. "No clue." They make their way closer to the seemingly stunned - which at any other point in time would be hilarious, but now it's just kind of worrisome - biotic. Jack didn't move an inch as they approached her, her eyes still locked on whatever was inside the room in front of her, a strange look on her face, like a mixture of disbelief and almost... fear. A small crease has formed between her eyebrows.

As James Vega waves his hand around in front of Jack's face, trying to pull her out of her thoughts, Garrus peaks into the room. The first thing that comes to the attention of the large blue-marked turian, was the starch-whiteness of the room. It was definitely a very sterile environment. There was even a tangible smell that makes Garrus's nose crinkle a bit.

He steps a bit closer to look around the long, narrow room. There was a lot of medical equipment scattered around the room, hooked up to the person lying in the middle of the room. Suddenly, Garrus's heartbeat picks up and he steps into the room. Stepping closer and closer, vaguely noting the wires across the ground and stepping over them, as he draws closer.

"What's in there, Scars?" James asks.

Garrus doesn't respond, eyes locked onto the unmoving figure in the better. All the IVs hooked up to the person were changed just recently for most off them are just about completely full.

A woman lays against the crisp white sheets, her skin nearly translucent from both the lack of blood and sunlight. There is dark discoloration around her eyes, leaving them a dark purple color. Her pale face is slightly sunken-in. Her face is covered in heavy bruises in different stages of healing.

The white covers are pulled up to her waist, revealing a flat stomach, ribs, collar and hip bones prominent, and medical bandages wrapped around her breasts. There was bandages all up her right arm, from shoulder to finger tips, around her neck and head with a patch on her right cheek. There is splatters of healing burn marks all along her torso and arms, slight white discoloration. Her hair was cut short, a splash of black peach fuzz over her entire head with a noticeable, but healed scar going down the right side of her cheek from the beneath the bandage down to her cheek bones.

She was thinner, paler, but without a doubt, Garrus knew who this person was.

"Shepard!" He gasps, reaching out a hand to run a long talon down the side of her face, not daring to touch her too hard for dear of her shattering. Shepard was, by no means, a small woman. She was tall and lanky, but at this moment, she seemed tiny.

"What?" James could be heard from the hall. "What did you say?"

Garrus couldn't believe what he was seeing. Coming back from death once, that was a miracle! Cerberus retrieved her body and somehow managed to bring her back to life, if that wasn't a miracle then Garrus didn't know what was. But this is time number two. She was there, right in front of him. The heart monitor confirmed it. Her heart rate was low, but no doubt beating.

She was alive.

By the spirits _she was alive._

"Oh shit..." James breaths from the end of the bed, brown eyes wide. "She's... Lola, she's..."

"Chakwas," Garrus manages to mutter out, blue avian eyes locked on the unmoving figure in the bed. "We need Chakwas."

It takes a few moments before James blinks out of his shock and puts a hand up to his ear. "Joker, we need Chakwas down here. Like, ASAP."

Since they found Shepard, Garrus hasn't moved from her side. He's surely getting on Chakwas's nerves with all his hovering, but she saintly ignores him other than the occasional nudge out of the way when he unconsciously moved close. They set a course for the Citadel and has been burning space to get there as fast as they could.

Outside the room, by the large windows looking in, Vega and a few other Normandy personnel have gathered. They shift back and forth, whispering excitedly things like, "Immortal," and "Un-killable". But Vega didn't take his eyes off of the unmoving figure in the bed. He had mixed feelings about the whispers. On one hand he wanted to punch the daylights out of them. For no reason. They weren't doing anything wrong. They were just whispering about their former- commander.

But she wasn't just a former commander to him. She was an inspiration. A role model. A friend. And now, she was just the center of a rumor maelstrom.

But at the same time, he was right along side them. He believed that as well. This powerful woman was completely unstoppable, in Vega's eyes. He saw it in the battle against the Reapers, and believed it, but seeing her now, alive once more after once again being deemed KIA, was unlike anything that the soon-to-be N7 recruit could believe. He heard all the stories of her exploits, all of them did, but it was one thing to see them in action.

Vega knew what it was like, now. He now understood what Joker and Garrus told him about the pain of losing her. It was like a physical hole was left in his body where she used to be. He could imagine what it was like to lose someone - he had lost plenty of people - but then to have them be returned to him? It sounded like her first return opened and resealed the wounds that she had put there with her death. He didn't really understand until now. Now he was one of those people that loved her and were left behind by her.

Because he did love her. She became a good friend, above all else. Sure, she was his commanding officer and he made a show of flirting here and there, but he held great respect for her and mourned her deeply when she was gone. The official report was that her body was incinerated in the firing of the Crusible.

He could recall, at her funeral for a second time - first time Vega was there - standing beside Joker, who was staring down at the casket that was to be her _final_ final resting place muttering, "And yet another empty casket to go on her resume."

But now she's back again but this time, she's not on her feet. She's small and weak - which is a strange thought because this is _Commander Shepard_ who is anything but weak - and unconscious in her medical bed with a near seven-foot-tall turian bodyguard at her side at all times. Every time Vega had ever seen Shepard, she was upright and proud and strong. She could take a Reaper head-on and walk away from the battle relatively unscathed.

But here she was, small, weak, unconscious. Who knew if she would even wake up this time? Who found her in the first place? Who healed her? Certainly wasn't Cerberus again, she pissed them off for the last time, but then who? She was found in an Alliance base that should have been out of commission for a while now, except it wasn't.

Someone was there. Someone who found Shepard, snuck her off the Citadel, and nursed her back to health the past couple of months.

The question now is; who was it and why did they do it?

* * *

"What do you mean we can't get a room in Huerta Memorial?" Garrus growls, clawed hand gripping the back of Joker's chair. On any other day, and circumstance, he would make a whiney comment about how the turian's claws were ripping apart the fine leather, but he couldn't even bring himself to think one up. He was just as angry as Garrus was.

"I'm sorry," the salarian nurse says, holding up his hands from the screen in front of them, "but we just can't afford to have any more patients at this time. The Citadel is still in a state of disrepair alongside the hospital. Even if I wanted to help, I can't. I'm sorry."

"But we have-" Garrus tried again only to be cut off.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Vakarian, but whomever is hurt will have to be taken somewhere else," the salarian says with finality before cutting the feed. Garrus growls in rage, hand flying up to his face as if to claw it off, but stops a few inches away from the plates of his face before dropping to his side. His mind racing, running through all viable options in an effort to find somewhere to take Shepard. A hospital good enough to save her. But there wasn't one. At least, not close by.

It ready took almost a week to get here and they were running out of time trying to get her to a hospital. Chakwas has already informed Garrus that she's made due with what she can for Shepard but their Commander needs an actual hospital.

Joker turns very slowly, looking up at Garrus slowly. Taking the chance that the enraged turian won't just outright attack him for speaking, he says, "Ashley is on the Citadel, Garrus, she might be able to pull some strings..."

Garrus stares blankly forward, before turning around with a sharp, "Dock, and send Vega to medical," before heading back toward the elevator with quick, precise steps, heading down to the medbay and walking up to Shepard, he throws the covers away, revealing loose, light blue medical scrubs Chakwas put her in, and leaning down, scooping her up into his arms. Her head rests on his shoulder, not even slightly being disturbed. Her face has cleared up well, the bruises almost all gone. Chakwas quickly grabs all the IV bags and follows after, keeping them upright.

Vega walks in right as they are walking out.

"What are we-" James starts to say, but stops when he sees Garrus walking down the hall with a sleeping Shepard in his arms. Chakwas gestures for him to follow them, handing him one of the IV bags. They both struggle to keep up with the long strides of the tall turian. James looks down at Chakwas for a moment, as if she could explain what exactly they were doing but neither dared to speak when they entered the elevator. Garrus impatiently taps his three toed foot as he waits for them to reach the main floor.

As they leave the Normandy, Joker yells after, "I called Ashley, she's on her way!" as they left.

They leave the docking bay, people sending them weird looks as they pass. Once they leave the docking bay, Ashley is riding up on a hover car, swinging the door open, long brown hair flapping back and forth in front of her face.

"Get on!" she yells.

Vega hands his IV bag to Chakwas and climbs into the front, next to Ashley, they share a nod, before Chakwas slowly climbs in, making sure not to move the bags too much as to not disturb the needles in Shepard's arms. As Garrus climbs into the back of the car, holding Shepard tightly as to not drop her, and sit down, sliding comfortably into the car.

He rests Shepard on his lap, looking down at her peacefully sleeping face, watching it for any sign of discomfort. But no, Shepard hasn't moved or awakened since they got her. There is eye movement and signs of dreaming, but nothing. She's sleeping so serenely that there is not even the slightest bit of shift in her expression no matter what. No outward reaction to stimuli. Lost in a state of dreaming.

For as long as Garrus has known her, Shepard has always been alert to a fault. When they began sleeping together, he learned just how alert she was. He couldn't so much as shift in bed next to her without waking her up. A part of that probably stems from not being used to having someone sleeping beside her often - which gave the blue marked turian a bit more confidence in their relationship - but another part of it has to do with almost her entire life being lived on the edge of her seat. When her colony world of Mindoir was attacked by batarian raiders and then when she joined the Alliance a few years later, she was in the Skyllian Blitz. Her entire life all the way up to this point has been on the edge.

But now she's sleeping without a care in the world. When Garrus expressed concern for her not waking up, Chakwas made it clear that the medicine Shepard was taking was keeping her sleeping, it did little to give him comfort. He would give anything just to see her open those large blue eyes and look at him, acknowledging his existence. That he wasn't just talking to himself while he held her hand at night. That he wasn't the only one listening to the sound of both of them breathing over the sound of her heart monitor. That he wasn't the only one still fighting.

But that was a silly thought. One derived from desperation and loneliness. Even though Shepard was just inches away from him in physical form, she couldn't be further away.

None of that matters, though, because Shepard is a fighter. The strongest person that Garrus has ever met. She wasn't scared of anything - or at least she was a master at hiding it if she was - and she knew what she wanted and would fight tooth and nail to get it. She loved whole-heartedly and fought to the death to protect those she loved. Literally. This makes two.

It'll be alright, though, because Shepard is alive. She'll be okay. She'll wake up and everything will be okay. She'll be just fine. Garrus had to believe that. He just had to. He can't lose her, not again. Never again.


	2. Worry

**Author's note: I am sorry about the wait! So, there is a bit of interest in this story so I will give it a few more chapters to see how it goes. Thanks! Let me know what you think! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Dedicated to: VGirl7553: Thank you for encouraging me to keep writing these stories. :D**

 **Warnings: Language and OOCness.**

 **Word Count: 4,778**

Garrus was an anxious, twitchy mess, waiting for the doctors to tell them anything about Shepard's condition. Mandibles flicking out every couple of seconds, blue eyes darting back and forth and every time a doctor or nurse comes close, he tenses up. But no one will say anything to him. No one will tell him what's going on. He's trying to keep himself calm, but his anxiety is mounting, and quickly.

"Whelp, that was fun," Jack says, walking over.

Relieved by the distraction, Garrus looks up at her. "What did Kahlee Sanders say?"

"She understands the situation, and is glad that Shepard is alive. She said she can find someone who can look after my kids until I have all of this shit figured out." Jack rolls her shoulders back and cracks her neck before relaxing. "Jesus, even when she's newly revived, she's causing shit. How do you deal with that?" She looks down at the blue marked turian.

"Very carefully," Garrus says, smile thin.

"We got some coffee for everyone," Vega says, walking into the waiting room with Ashley right behind him. Both of them are holding cups, one marked differently than the others, for Garrus. Vega hands that one to the turian, who takes it, thanks him, but just holds it in his hands without drinking from it. He lets out a little sigh, looking down at the steam that was coming off of the coffee.

Ashley takes a sip of her own drink, while handing the other to Jack. "So," she says, "have you guys heard about Shepard's condition yet?"

Garrus shakes his head. "No," he says softly, letting out another sigh. "I haven't heard anything yet. No one will say anything to me. Not that I think that they could. We aren't family."

"Shit," Jack says. "That's bullshit! She doesn't have any family. I would think that a boyfriend was close enough, right? I mean, you guys are practically married. If you had enough time to get your tongues out of each other's throat, you'd been able to say your god damned vows and whatever the fuck turians do to be bound together for the rest of forever. So they should just let that be as it clearly is." She waves her hands around, annoyed.

Garrus blushes a bit at her words. Their relationship wasn't... well, _that_ far along yet. They didn't really know if their union could be recognized by either or both of their people, if it did become that serious. There wasn't a lot of relationships between turans and humans out there, at least that was public. There was a lot of turian and asari, but not a lot of turian and human. Even though, from what Garrus understands, much of their... basics are the same, between female humans and asari, there was an unspoken stigma about a human and turian being together.

And it's all because of the First Contact War. At least, that's what the human's call it. But Garrus can understand. People were surprised when they learned that Shepard and he were in a relationship - not so much the people on the ship, they became welcoming to the idea of everyone being treated equal, so there wasn't much of an issue there but it's different out there - they didn't say much because Shepard was a big hero, but Garrus had to wonder what people really thought about it.

It was strange, really. It was like, while on the Normandy, everything existed in a bubble purely Shepard. She knew everything that went on in the ship and she is the one that made sure it kept going. Maybe not so much physically, but in the sense of the crew. How they treated each other, how they treated any and all situations that came their way, things of the light. It was like the Normandy became Shepard's world and while at first, at least for Garrus, it was a bit clonky and not what he was used to, it was a world that he loved, enjoyed and fit in just fine.

And that's how it was formatted. Shepard was the type of person that just wanted everyone to be involved. She wanted everyone to know that they have a role and that they were the only ones who could do it exactly they way that they could do it. It may not be much and some could argue that there were people better suited for some place or another, but that wasn't how Shepard ran things.

Everyone had a job. Everyone was important. Everyone was indispensable. And everyone was equal.

Garrus had to wonder if this open-mindedness was something that Shepard always had or if it was something that she just picked up over her years in the Alliance service. It was something that Garrus wants to ask her about once she wakes up, because she will wake up. He just knows that she will. Now that she is alive - again - there is no way that she's not going to wake up. She's too strong not to.

But going back to whether people would be able to accept them as a legal partners, he didn't really have the time to talk to his sister about it, and his father was the type of person that either liked to rip Garrus a new one for his life decisions or ignore what he's doing all together. It's hit or miss with his father. Shepard was one of the things that his father seems to want to pretend doesn't exist. Not so much Shepard, but the true nature of Garrus's relationship with her. Not that Garrus minded all that much.

Whenever they spoke about Shepard during her time on Earth, Garrus called her 'Shepard' and his father called her 'Commander Shepard', there was nothing in those conversations that could betray how close Garrus and Shepard were, nothing that could set his father off in any negative way. But he had to of known about Garrus and Shepard, but never said anything about it, which served Garrus just fine.

"It's good that we have two Specters on our side," Jack says after a long silence. She didn't finish the thought, but she didn't have to. She was right. At this point, Garrus didn't know if they would have accepted Shepard with how clustered they were. They may not have even believed Garrus and his friends that she was Shepard if Ashley hadn't been there to wave her Specter status around in their faces forcing them to make room whether they really could one way or the other. They couldn't very well refuse.

Thankfully Chakwas worked here almost two years ago, after Shepard was arrested and locked down on Earth. With an extra capable hand there, they were a bit more forthcoming in taking Shepard in. They didn't like it, especially since they didn't really have much choice, but having Chakwas there helped ease their ire. At least a bit.

"How do you think she's doing..?" Garrus asks quietly, just needing to fill the silence. He actually dreads the answer but needed something to occupy him from his thoughts. He looks around helplessly at the three humans around him.

Vega crosses his arms over his broad chest while Jack leaned heavily on one hip, placing a hand there and gazing out the window behind him. It was Ashley who spoke, her voice even and confident, "She's doing good, Garrus. Come on, you know Shepard. She's the strongest person I've ever met. I know this won't keep her down for long."

Garrus nods slowly, but someone says, "We." Garrus, Ashley and Jack all look over at James.

"We," he says again, looking at Ashley slowly. "She's the strongest person _we've_ ever met. You aren't the only one that's seen Lola, both in battle and out of it. She's a force to be reckoned with. This," he does a wide gesture around them without signaling to anything in specific, "is nothing. She'll be up and out of here in no time. Easy."

"I haven't the slightest clue how you know your way around being led by blind faith like that," Jack mutters, narrowing her large brown eyes.

Garrus looks over at the biotic. "Jack..."

"Think about it," Jack says blithely, glaring at them. "I mean, really think about it! She's been through hell, literal hell, multiple times. She's died twice! And I say twice because like hell she survived the explosion here. Someone came in, took her broken corpse and fixed her up again. Just like Cerberus did before."

"Whoa," James says, shaking his head, raising his hands up.

"Hold on," Ashley snaps. "Where in the world do you get off? What are you trying to say?"

Garrus' hands curl into tight fists.

"I didn't know Shepard before, truth," Jack says simply, "but when I met here, I knew it. Shepard is fucked up, like, bad. Worse than me."

"Jack!" Ashley snaps, brown eyes wide. "What the hell?"

"Oh come _on,_ you guys can't honestly tell me that you think that entire thing was normal, can you? The things she did, the things she said? I saw some of the footage from when she first woke up, her face was in cracks and craters! It was barely holding together as it is. I've seen her napping in the little canteen shit, or whatever you call that place where the shit food was prepared, she was wracked with nightmares! And during battle, no one could stand directly behind her while she had to wear the enviro-suits." Jack crosses her arms over her chest.

"There's a good reason for that," a voice says behind James. He half turns to see Joker walking over to them slowly, being mindful of his brittle bones. He stops between James and Ashley. He looks over at Jack. "When Shepard... when she got me out of the Normandy SR1, something happened. She was either hit by shrapnel or when she hit the side of the deck she damaged her suit, but she somehow managed to hit her oxygen tank and suffocated in open space before burning up in the atmosphere," Joker says flatly, staring at Jack.

"How..." Ashley says softly, eyes wide and horrified.

Joker looks over at her. "Do I know that?" he guesses. Ashley nods, mutely. "Miranda told me. Later, when she managed to work out her daddy issues." He shrugs his shoulders. "Jack," he looks over at the dark haired biotic, "I think I get what you're saying. Shepard was unusual, but it wasn't by design, she went through something traumatic. She died, like, actually died. She suffocated and burned to death and then was basically forced back into her body and never given the proper time to process what all happened to her. Wouldn't you be pretty messed up too?"

"Yes," Jack says flatly. "That's what I'm trying to say. We keep saying that she'll be fine, but that's not going to be the case, I think. She died, again. She barely had time to process it the first time, how in the world do you dumb fucks think she's going to take it this time. I mean, she didn't have time to feel the first time around, the threat of the Reapers, and all that, but what now? There is nothing for her to focus on now expect for that. Someone can't die then come back to life completely okay. That has to change someone. I can't believe that Shepard would somehow be the exception."

No one spoke for a moment, everyone lost in their thoughts. Garrus' fingers curl and uncurl into and out of fists, trying to control the anger boiling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't deny Jack's words, having known Shepard a bit before she died the first time, there was a bit of a shift in her personality that he did notice. It wasn't anything big at first, but as he began watching her more closely than he was originally allowed to, he began to see it.

The reason he thinks it like that is because it's true. Garrus wasn't allowed to love - well crush, at that point - on Shepard when he first joined her crew. There was already a man - a human man - vying for her love and Garrus was a turian, a turian who was still trying hard to still be a good turian at the time. The separation between a human and a turian was greater than that of an asari and a krogan or a salaran and a yahg. No matter what similarities they may or may not have had, the stigma between humans and turians still existed.

Because Garrus wanted to be a good turian to a degree at the time, there is no way he was ever allowed to love Shepard. Or for her to love him. It just wasn't something that either of them could want. If Shepard ever wanted it back then, but once Garrus gave up on being what his father wanted of him, he didn't care anymore. He wanted to do whatever he wanted, and when Shepard showed that she was interested in him, the stirring feelings he shouldn't have been feeling when he first joined her crew came rushing back to him full force.

"Shepard is strong," Ashley says, pulling Garrus from his thoughts. He looks up at the dark haired Specter. "No matter what is next to come, she's going to be strong, I know she is. Even if she needs help, she needs someone to be in her corner, then that's what we'll do."

No one spoke again.

A salarian doctor comes walking out, heading their way. Everyone stops breathing, but he walks past them to a man and woman sitting a few chairs away and spoke to them for a moment.

"Shit," Garrus groans, shaking his cramping hands around, trying to release the tension. "I'm exhausted. This stress is going to kill me." He runs his palms up and down his face plates, groaning again.

"Excuse me?"

Garrus pulls his hands away from his face to see the salarian doctor that walked past them standing next to Jack and Ashley. He looks around at all of them. "Um, is there any family here for the human Jane Doe under Doctor Chakwas' care?"

No one spoke for a moment, although Garrus wanted to. He wanted tot ell them that he was her boyfriend, but he knew that wouldn't get him anywhere. They wouldn't accept that, if they even believed it.

"I am," Ashley says, turning toward the doctor. "She's my sister."

The salarian doctor seemed to believe that for he turns to her. "Doctor Chakwas explained that she was a VIP and couldn't be put on official records right now, is that true?"

Ashley nods. "Yes, she is."

"Alright, we've done a few checks on her and the damage is extensive but it's all healing. There is copious amounts of cybernetic enhancements beneath her skin that appeared to have been shut down at some point, assisting in what we can only assume was... well, death."

It's like the air left the room. "She died," James says, bringing his hands up and behind his head. "Do... Do you know how long?"

The salarian shakes his head. "No, it's impossible to tell for certain. If I had to guess, maybe a few minutes, an hour or two, even. Normally, such a thing would cause brain damage in humans, lack of oxygen I mean, within three minutes, but the cybernetics in her body somehow managed to repair the damage done once it somehow reactivated an undetermined amount of time later."

Jack shakes her head. "How the hell is it possible for her cybernetics to turn back on on it's own?"

"No idea," the doctor admits. "But I'm not an expert in that field of study. What I know of right now is that she is in too weak of a condition to be taken on the medication that's keeping her asleep. Her natural healing abilities coupled with the cybernetics are doing wonderful at fixing her. But with her quick healing now, we can only determine that the damage was pretty bad. To be honest, I'm surprised she's alive now. She must have someone out there looking out for her."

They all share a look. Garrus stands up. "Doctor..." he wrings his hands in front of him, anxiously, "would we be able to see her?"

The salarian doctor stares at him for a moment, tilting his head to the side. "Um, I'm not sure..."

"It's alright," someone says, stepping up next to Jack's other side. Another doctor, this one is a turian. His head is tilted to the side slightly, as if listening to something. Garrus looks away, suddenly embarrassed. "Doctor Rodis," the turian doctor says, "it's alright." He looks over at Garrus. "I hear you, brother," he says and Garrus shrinks a bit more.

"Hear what?" Jack says, eyebrow quirked. She looks around confused for a moment.

The salarian doctor makes a gasping noise in understanding. "Very well," he says, tipping his head. "She'll be able to have some visitors in about twenty minutes. We just need to finish setting her up in her room." He nods and turns around, heading back the way he came from. The turian doctor looks over at Garrus and tips his head a bit before turning and heading back the same way.

"What the hell was that?" Joker asks, shifting slightly from one leg to the other carefully.

Garrus sighs, scratching his neck slowly. "My sub-harmonics. I was... making distress noises he must have heard." He clears his throat, embarrassed. "There is no other turians here as far as I can see, I didn't think anyone would have heard it. That's embarrassing."

"Yeah, it is," Jack says, shaking her head. "Especially if you didn't want anyone to hear."

Garrus glares at her. "Thank you, Jack."

Her eyebrow quirks up again before her expression turns serious. "Well, this is fucked up. Dead again."

"I wonder what made her cybernetics activate again," Ashley says, cupping her chin with her right hand, eyes narrow.

"Could it have been whoever it was that stole Lola from here?" James asks, looking around the room as if someone would suddenly come through the crowd and admit to being the person who pulled Shepard off of the Citadel and saving her life. Just because she was saved, didn't mean she was saved by someone bad, just shady.

Who know how much more to this story they don't know? They have no idea.

"Damn, I don't know," Jack sighs.

There is a ping and Ashley flinches, pulling up her Omni-tool. She scans the screen for a moment before lowering her arm again. "It was from Tali. I messaged her, Wrex, Liara, Grunt, Samara and even Kolyat. I've only heard back from Tali and Liara so far. Both are on their way to the Citadel. Liara is half a day out and Tali is three days."

"They don't have to rush," Garrus says, sighing, relieved that the attention is off of him now. "Something tells me that she's not going to be out of here for a while." His own words depressed him.

A few minutes later, the salarian doctor comes out and waves for them to come in, taking them to Shepard's room, the same room that Ashley was being held in when she was attacked and hurt by Doctor Eva. It was strange to be back in this room, but for Shepard this time.

Shepard was laying in bed, her face turned toward the windows, drapes darkening the room so that she can sleep peacefully with a bit of the artificial sunlight peaking through. The lights above are dim above them, making it look like she was just sleeping. With the exception of all the wires connected to her arms and the heart monitor beating slowly but surely.

The heart monitor is turned down, so the room is filled with the sound of Shepard's soft breathing. Garrus walks over to her, lightly touching her right harm that is resting across her stomach. He slowly wraps his three fingered hand around her wrist, holding it gently. He slowly sits down on the bed and stares down at her without saying a word.

They stay for a few hours, talking quietly amongst one another, just listening to Shepard sleep before they decide to go their separate ways. It goes without saying that they are going to be sticking around the Citadel for an undisclosed amount of time, but only one of them could stay with Shepard for the night and it only seemed right that it was Garrus. Liara was to be on the Citadel soon and would come to see Shepard in the morning. So everyone else said their goodbyes and promised to be back in the morning before departing.

Garrus has no idea how many hours he just sat there, looking down at Shepard watching her breath, feeling her pause beat beneath his talons. It was a relief that she was alive. He brought his other hand up and lightly stroked the side of her face, being mindful of the bandages on her face. But like before, she didn't move, didn't show any sign that she was awake, and alive, other than her gentle breathing.

"Thank you for helping me earlier," Garrus says softly, still staring down at Shepard.

The turian standing in the doorway steps in so that the door would close behind him. He looks around the room for a moment as if it was somehow different from all the other rooms in the hospital before looking over at Garrus and saying, quietly, "You're welcome. I'm one of the few turians here in the hospital right now, so I was surprised to hear someone else and in such distress." There is a short pause, before he says, "You're... Garrus Vakarian... aren't you?"

Garrus pulls his eyes away from Shepard at last to straighten up where he's sitting to look over at the turian at the door. "Yes, I am. How did you know?"

The turian crosses his hands in front of himself. "I, um, actually know your sister, Solana."

Garrus tilts his head to the side. "My sister, huh? How does a doctor on the Citadel know my sister? I don't think she's ever left Palaven, well, not until the Reaper invasion."

The turian doctor rubs the back of his neck. "I understand your skepticism. I originally worked on Palaven and met Solana there."

Garrus' back straightens up sharply. His eyes widen in horror. "My sister visited the hospital? Is she okay? Did something happen to her?"

The turian's eyes widen, showing a large dark green color. His marking the same dark green color with almost white plates around his face. He shakes his head quickly. "No, Garrus, there is nothing wrong with Solana. She wasn't in there because she was sick or anything like that. She was in there because she wanted to be a doctor. She's... been taking classes in secret from her... um, your father and I was giving her some lessons before the Reaper attack on Palaven."

Garrus relaxes, letting out a shaky breath. "Oh thank the spirits, you scared me. I thought something horrible had happened. Well, thank you for helping my sister out. I wasn't aware that she wanted to be a doctor but if that's what she wants, thank you for helping her. So... um, who are you?"

"Oh!" The turian says, looking embarrassed. "I'm Roik Londis. I was moved here about three months ago. It's nice to officially meet you, Garrus Vakarian."

"Ditto," Garrus says, giving a little nod. "Thanks for looking after Sol."

"You're welcome," Roik says, pausing for just a moment before saying, hesitantly, "She spoke about you a lot, Solana, I mean."

"Good things, I hope," Garrus says with a touch of humor.

Roik nods. "Yes, all good things. She told me that you joined Commander Shepard, the first human Specter, on her mission to hunt down the rogue Specter Saren Arterius. She said that you quit C-Sec to do it."

Garrus rubs the back of his neck. Their father was going to kill Solana for going and talking about he family to people. It was bad enough that all of C-Sec knew about Garrus leaving, and his reasons behind it, but the more people that know the madder their father would become. Maybe it'll be okay now that so much time has passed since then and his father has gotten over it - at least a bit. Maybe everything is going to be okay. Well, Garrus isn't going to say anything about Solana running her mouth, so if their father hears about it, it won't be from him.

"Well, Solana doesn't know when to keep matters private," Garrus says, shaking his head.

"She said that she was proud of you," Roik says, smiling. "She was proud to have a big brother that was willing to risk it all to save the universe. I guess... when I saw your clan markings in the waiting room that I knew you were her older brother and I had to say something. I'm sorry for intruding."

Garrus shakes his head. "No, it's fine. Thank you for your help."

"Can I ask you something personal?" Roik asks, shifting slightly.

Garrus stares at him for a moment in debate. He didn't seem dangerous. Besides, he did kind of help them out earlier. "Go ahead. But I reserve the freedom to say nothing depending on what it is. Is that okay?"

Roik nods. His green eyes lower to the prone woman sleeping on the bed. "Is that her?" He didn't have to clarify. They both knew who he meant.

The room is silent. Garrus doesn't pull his eyes away from the other turian, his breathing even, his sub-harmonics quiet. He just stares, mentally debating on what he should so. Was this man a threat? Did he want to hurt Shepard? How did he know this was her? Well, it wasn't exactly like they were hiding it, per se, they just didn't want people swarming her before she even woke up. They wanted to make sure that she rested safe, and under the radar for a little while. But Garrus didn't know this guy, didn't know if he should trust him.

But then again, her entire time here, Shepard wasn't going to be left alone for a moment. It shouldn't be so bad. Solana knew him and well enough to tell him about their family drama. Maybe he should give her a call later and ask her about him, for now, it should be fine. It's going to get out anyway.

"Yes," Garrus says, looking down at the sleeping woman in front of him. "It's her."

Roik's eyes are blown wide as he stares at the sleeping Specter like she was an angel descending from the heavens. "Commander Shepard," he whispers. "She's really alive..."

Garrus nods. "Yes. But for now, let her sleep. At least until she's well."

Roik blinks back into reality and nods quickly. "Yes, yes, of course. Of course, the secret is safe with me." His Omni-tool pings and he glances down at it. "Oh, I... I um, got to go. But, um, okay." He turns to leave, pauses to look back down at Shepard, still amazed, before leaving.

Garrus waits until he's gone before looking back down at the pale, sleeping face of his love, willing that she wake up soon, and be okay when she does.

 _For the Reviewer:_

 _7553: Aww, thank you so much! I appreciate what you said. I'm sorry about the wait!_


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